If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You will be required to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

My second attempt at building some furniture

11-13-2013, 10:13 PM

After resolving the Dado issue on the TS I got to work and made these two pine bookcases. I based it on a design I found on the fine woodworking website. It was the simplest design I could find - really basic stuff. I have not finished it yet - one article I found on finishing pine suggest waiting for a month or so for a golden patina to develop so I'm holding off finishing it for now.

The article said it could be done in a day but it took me a few days to finish it - LOL. On to making an entertainment center next - that a bit more involved but I think I'm ready to tackle it.

Nice! I know you didn't ask so forgive my nose for getting into your business but if you decide to wait a month before applying a finish, don't forget to wipe it down with mineral spirits to remove any accumulated dust before applying the finish.

================================================== ====
~~Don't worry about old age; it doesn't last that long.

Push sticks/blocks Save Fingers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
attributed to Samuel Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUBLIC NOTICE: Due to recent budget cuts, the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil...plus the current state of the economy............the light at the end of the tunnel, has been turned off.

Comment

Very nice! I wouldn't have guessed it was pine from the pictures... maybe that's because all the pine I use (#2) is loaded with knots. Yours really came out nice. What did you use for the back enclosure?

Thanks for posting,

CWS

Comment

Very nice! I wouldn't have guessed it was pine from the pictures... maybe that's because all the pine I use (#2) is loaded with knots. Yours really came out nice. What did you use for the back enclosure?

Thanks for posting,

CWS

I used grade C and better pine. The article suggested using D select but the lumber yard I normally use for my projects only had #2. I looked at it and did not care for all the knots. So I visited another lumber yard which had this grade of pine which looked a lot nicer. They had lower grades of pine which did not look nice at all to me. The article was not too specific about the back other than suggesting 1/4" plywood so I picked up some Purebond 1/4" Birch from HD for the back. It is secured into a rabbet running the length of the sides. The assembly is glued and screwed and I used a plug cutter mounted in my drill press to cut matching plugs out of the same pine for the holes.

"When we build let us think we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work that our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone upon stone, that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, "See! This our fathers did for us."
John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

Pine is pretty high here and is full on knots. HD sells some sort of white wood, a softwood like pine and it's affordable. I pick through the stack and find some nice pieces for woodworking.

1x6 is the widest though.

For the very first time, I've found the stock at Lowes to be better than at Home Depot. I don't know what the reasoning was, but my local HD, here in the Binghamton area totally changed their wood stocking a couple of years ago. We had a serious flood back then and that store received some damage. Before the flood, they stocked several differents widths and lengths of pine in a couple of grades, as well as poplar and red oak. The pine was bundled and stacked horizontally on the floor, with extra stock stored above it. The floor stock was easy to sort through and though it took some effort on the buyer's part, one could manage to get a dozen of so pieces of fairly decent quality... and that is how I generally bought my stock when building our library.

But after the flood, they have far less "1-by" and they've stacked it vertically, in a much smaller area which doesn't accomodate much stock. Worse is that it is now probably the narrowest isle in the store, so you can't really get a lumber cart into that isle, without totally blocking it, and even then there is no way you can really sort through any of it, at least more than two or three boards, and even that is rather precarious. So, I no longer buy any kind of stock there.

Lowes' has actually gotten much better stock now (they were also flooded), and thought it too is stacked vertically, the stock is more plentiful and the isle is wide.

I have a local lumber yard only a few blocks away, but they really don't like customers sorting the lumber and prefer we not go into the yard. I've ordered stock from them in the past, and though they are generally a dollar per board more expensive, they deliver. But often find a few pieces less than desirerable (cupping or cracks) and they have to come replace it. They'll do that, but it's often with a few raised eyebrows to make you feel like you're too picky.

Again, very nice work on your part. The bookcases came out really nice. Are you planning to stain them or leave them natural?

CWS

I'm planning to finish it following the recipe in Fine Woodworking magazine. Apparently Pine can take on stain unevenly resulting in blotching. The actual recipe is a bit long winded but a quick summary is - apply an initial washcoat of Shellac and denatured alcohol (mix of clear and amber shellacs). The stain with a mix of stains (some experimentation required but 3 colors are suggested with a mix recipe). Then another coat of shellac and then a topcoat - probably varnish. Some sanding inbetween coats is also involved. All sounds rather complex but the magazine has photos of the pine finished using this recipe and it looks pretty good. So I plan to try that recipe on the bookcase.

Comment

Here in SD we have several lumber yards with a pretty good selection of domestic and exotic woods and the staff there are very helpful. I have used one yard pretty much exclusively in the last couple of years for lumber for my remodelling projects. For example they make the baseboard you see in the photos. Also I got the Jatoba boards and milled the feature strips for the floor - again you see it in the photo. The guy I deal with is a woodworker and quite knowledgeable and helps me pick the best boards etc. I think they even opened an account for me there now. Having said that 99% of the people going to these places tend to be contractors - rarely do you see DIYers in these places.

I rarely go to HD/Lowes for lumber unless it's for framing/construction although they do have a few decent plywood panels which could be used for some basic furniture. For example I got the redwood panels for my closet organizer there (grade C3 but looked better than that).

Comment

You should look at buying online. I have bought from Wall Lumber a number of times and am pleased with what I got. Their UPS bundles are a good deal. Check them out.

"When we build let us think we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work that our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone upon stone, that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, "See! This our fathers did for us."
John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)